Knife Fire
by I am the Demon Barber
Summary: What if Katniss and Peeta were never placed in the 74th Hunger Games and were instead reaped for the 3rd Quarter Quell? Well, when you play with fire, you're going to get burned, and when you play with knives, you're going to get cut...
1. The Third Quarter Quell

**Well, hey. This is not an SYOT (sorry, I guess they're not allowed). Even so, there are going to be a **_**lot **_**of OCs. You'll understand why in a minute. It's a Katniss/Peeta story, with some minor Cato/Clove and Marvel/Glimmer and perhaps some OC relationships. Now, just so you know, for the sake of this story, Prim was never reaped for the 74****th**** Hunger Games, so Katniss never volunteered. There was no "star-crossed lovers" angle, and only one tribute came home. There was no threat of an uprising.**

** Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games.**

President Coriolanus Snow, Seneca Crane, and Claudius Templesmith all lounged around in a luxurious room. It was time for the 75th Hunger Games, and a twist had to be thought of. So far, all three were coming up empty.

"How about this?" Claudius said. "We take away all sponsoring."

The president shook his head.

"I've got it!" Seneca said. "We could-wait, no, that wouldn't work…at _all_..."

"We could make all the tributes the same gender," Claudius said. It was obvious now that the two were just grasping at straws.

"No," President Snow said, once again shaking his head. "No, we need something that will really hit them hard. To remind them how in control the Capitol really is…"

President Snow furrowed his eyebrows in concentration, then finally looked up, a look of enlightenment clear on his face.

"Yes," he said.

"What?" Claudius and Seneca said together.

"Of course!" President Snow cried. "Do you know what's harder than killing someone?"

Both men stared at him blankly.

"Killing someone you're close to," President Snow said, almost beside himself in elation. "Now, this might work."

"Has he gone…?" Claudius turned to Seneca and mouthed the word "crazy".

"I think he has," Seneca said.

"Gentlemen," Snow said, "I know what we shall do. We will arrange alliances."

"Pardon?" Seneca said, clearly confused.

"We will arrange alliances. When our tributes are reaped, they will each be chosen an ally that they must work with."

"But what if they just kill their ally right off the bat?" Seneca asked.

"Then…" Snow looked stuck for a minute, then he grinned. "If your ally dies before the final ten, you die as well."

"How?" Seneca asked.

"Well, you are the Head Gamemaker, Seneca," Snow said exasperatedly. "Think something up."

"Oh…all right," Seneca said.

"You see, it will work," Snow said. "If you kill your own ally, you will essentially be killing yourself. And you will be inclined to protect your ally, no matter who they are, because again, if they should die, you will die as well."

"I see," Claudius said.

"And if this should all go according to plan, the allies will grow close," Snow said. "It is likely to happen when you are in a life or death situation. And then, once strong relationships are built, the next thing you know, they must be torn down if you wish to come home."

"This may actually work," Seneca admitted.

"That's the plan," Snow said. "Oh, and since two tributes will basically be acting as one, why don't we pull out an old idea and double the tributes, hmm?"

**Well, that was short, but that's just the intro. Review!**


	2. The Reaping: Part I

**Okay, just FYI, I said last chapter that if a member of an alliance dies before the final eight, the other member would die too. That was a mistake, and is changed to the final ten. I'm going to go back and change that eventually, but I just wanted to make sure everyone was aware.**

** Oh, and in this story, everyone is the age they were in the first book.**

** Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games.**

The twist had been revealed.

Arranged alliances. When I had first heard, I'd thought it was so crazy that they Capitol was joking. But the more they talked, the more I realized how ingenious it was. It really could work. Not to mention the fact that there would be double the chance of tributes. Double the chance of being reaped. Double the chance of dying.

I stood in the forest outside of the old fence of District 12. It was Reaping Day, and I needed something to calm my nerves. I'd have to be home soon, for my sister Prim's sake, but I still had a little time.

"Hey, Catnip." A masculine voice came from behind me. I turned, and a familiar set of grey eyes met mine. Gale.

"Hey, Gale," I said.

"So," he said, walking to my side, "ready for the reaping?"

"No," I said truthfully.

"Neither am I," he admitted.

"No one is," I said. "Not in this District."

"How's Prim?"

"Still having nightmares."

Ever since Prim had turned twelve, she'd been having nightmares about the Games. I tried to convince her that the chances of her being reaped were miniscule, as she'd only have one slip with her name on it, but it offered her little comfort. The dreams still came.

"I suppose you'll have to get on back," Gale said.

"Soon," I said. "You will too, though."

"Eventually."

We stood in silence then, observing and admiring the forest, the way I liked to on Reaping Day. You never knew on that particular day if you'd ever see the things you love so much again.

"I should go," I said at last.

"Yeah," he nodded. I started off, but stopped when he didn't follow.

"Are you coming?" I asked.

"In a minute," he said.

"All right," I turned and kept walking.

"Katniss?" he said suddenly.

"Yeah?"

"May the odds be ever in your favor."

I stared at his turned back for one more moment, then headed back home.

My sister was already dressed when I walked through the door. She was in a simplistic white and pale blue jumper. Her hair was in two braids.

"Don't you look beautiful," I said. She turned and smiled shyly at me.

"Your clothes are in your room," my mother said, nodding her head in the direction of my room, like I'd forgotten where it was.

"Thank you," I said. Her lips curled at the ends, forming what I could only imagine was a smile.

I padded lightly down the hall to my room that I shared with my sister and saw a blue plain dress on my bed. I sighed, but picked it up and began to change clothes. When I was fully dressed, I went back to where my mother and sister were gathered so my mother could do my hair. She braided it first, into two parts, then pinned the braids up.

"There," she said, satisfied with her work. "You best be off."

She was right.

I took my sister's hand and led her out of the house and off towards the Justice Building. We were silent the whole way. Prim stared at her shoes, and I looked forward, trying my best not to do the exact same thing she was doing. One of us had to be the strong one.

We stood in line, waiting for the Peacekeepers to take a blood sample. Prim started hyperventilating, so I pulled her aside.

"It's going to be okay," I said. "There are just going to take a little sample of blood, that's all. You won't even feel it."

She nodded and calmed herself, then we got back in line. The line moved rather quickly, and soon it was our turn. It went just as I said. They took our blood, and it was over. Prim seemed fine.

We had to split up then. I had to go to the sixteen year old section, and she headed to the twelve year old section. Time passed slowly, but Effie Trinket was eventually onstage, wearing an outlandishly pink outfit, as usual, and a powder pink wig to match. She was smiling far too happily, as if she wasn't about to go let four kids fight to the death.

"Welcome, one and all, to the Reapings of the 75th Annual Hunger Games," she said happily. "As you all probably already know, the twist for this year is that there will be 48 tributes, and there will be arranged alliances, which will be determined randomly during training. Now, before we begin the Reapings, let us have a word from Mayor Undersee."

Mayor Undersee was my friend Madge's father. He talked every year about why the Hunger Games were held. It wasn't bad to listen to when you were twelve, but after a few years of the exact same speech, it got a little tedious. Or a lot, whichever.

Eventually, the speech was over with, and Effie was ready to reap.

"Let's start with a girl, hmm? Ladies first," she said, and plunged a hand into the female reaping bowl. She cleared her throat and I braced myself.

"Katniss Everdeen."

Oh, dear God.

I stood in shock for a moment, then Effie's voice met my ears again.

"Katniss? Where are you, dear?" she asked. "Come on."

The crowd began to part around me. I stood still for another second, then slowly began to move forward. Peacekeepers gathered around me, so I wouldn't run off. I slowly climbed the stairs to join Effie, who was egging me on the entire way.

"You are Katniss?" she asked.

_No, I just had a real death wish and felt like impersonating her, _I thought.

"Yes," I said. She smiled and nodded at me. She was probably expecting a smile back, but I wasn't in the mood to humor her. She finally turned away.

"Let's have a boy, shall we?" she said, and put a hand into the male tribute bowl, making a big show of it.

"Pike Serpentine," she said clearly. I craned my neck to get a good look at the boy. He was a seventeen year old with dark hair that fell into his eyes. He was tall and muscular. As he walked, I noticed how calm he seemed. He didn't even look surprised, as if he'd been expecting this to happen. He came to stand on the other side of Effie.

"Hello, Pike," Effie said. Looks like she trusts him not to be trying to impersonate someone else. Pike nodded, but said nothing. He didn't wish to humor her either.

"Yes, well, let's have the ladies again," she said. She again made of big show of pulling out a tribute name, then opened it and looked down. Whatever was written on the slip made her falter. I tried to look over her shoulder, but the print was too small, so I could not tell what was written. Quickly enough, though, she regained her composure, and cleared her throat.

"Primrose Everdeen."


	3. The Reaping: Part II

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games.**

"Primrose Everdeen."

Gasps came from everywhere. Eyes widened and jaws dropped. And I just stood there in shock. It wasn't possible. Both of us? It wasn't possible.

The crowd parted for Prim as they had for me. Eventually, I could see her. She looked around in uncertainty, but soon began walking forward. Peacekeepers gathered around her. She came up to join us solemnly, steeling herself. She was brave.

She stood next to me. I wanted to break down. This couldn't be happening. What are the odds? But I reminded myself, this is the Hunger Games. The odds are _never _in your favor.

"Now, are you two related?" Effie asked. I should answer, but I couldn't find my voice. Instead, my sister was the strong one this time.

"We're sisters," Prim said.

"Sisters?" Effie asked. "How remarkable!"

I could think of a few better words.

"Isn't that interesting?" Effie asked the crowd. "Let's give them a round of applause."

She clapped her hands together excitedly, but the crowd didn't follow her example. Instead, one by one, the people raised three fingers into the air. Our sign of respect in this District. Effie looked a bit crestfallen, but soon enough had placed her smile back on her face.

"Now for a boy, our final tribute," she said. She dove a hand into the male tribute bowl and pulled out a slip.

"Peeta Mellark."

I couldn't contain the small gasp that came from my lips. Prim looked at me in confusion, but I couldn't explain. Not now. We were standing in front of the entire District, after all.

The truth is, Peeta saved my life once. In fact, he saved my whole family's life. It was a while back, right after my father died. I hadn't quite learned how to get food to sustain my family yet, and we were starving.

I was sitting outside his bakery one day, as rain quite conveniently poured down on me, and he spotted me. He had a loaf of bread in his hand. Before I could figure out what he was doing, he dropped the bread into the fire. His mother was angry. Incredibly angry. She started saying terrible things, and it's quite possible she hit him with her rolling pin a few times. She told him to go throw it outside. And he did. He threw it to me.

Normally, I wouldn't like taking food from people, but that time was different. So I picked up the loaf and ran with it. I never even thanked him, that day or any other.

I saw him eventually. He was trying hard not to show any emotion or betray his true feelings. It wasn't working very well for him. He walked up slowly and deliberately, though, quite the same as I had. Effie said something to him when he finally made it up to join the rest of us, but I wasn't listening. I was too absorbed by my thoughts of how quickly things had gone downhill. I didn't have much more time to think about it though, because we had to shake hands. It was an odd ritual, all four of us shifting about to shake the other three's hands, but it worked in the end.

We were whisked away after that into the Justice Building, where we would wait for our private meetings with friends and family members. Finally, I get to hug my sister.

She didn't do anything at first, but then she was crying. Softly, but she still was. And there was nothing I could do. I couldn't tell her it would be all right, because I knew it wouldn't. She knew it wouldn't, as well. So I simply hugged her, and didn't say a word, for as long as I could. Right up until the Peacekeepers dragged us on our way, into the room that we would wait in for our visitors.

I sat silently and waited then, until the door opened and my mother rushed in. It was a while before she came, so I expected she saw Prim first. It wasn't surprising; in fact, it was to be expected.

She said nothing at first, so I started to talk. I explained how she had to keep alive. I knew Gale would take care of her, but I had to make sure she would do her part, no matter what might happen to Prim and me. She listened to all I said, and assured me she would do as I told her. I had to take her word for it.

Eventually, the Peacekeepers came back and made her leave. She hugged me one last time, then exited the room. I sat in silence once more, but not for long, because the door was opened once more, and Gale showed his face.

I was off the chair faster than you would believe when I saw him. I threw myself into his arms and he held me. I was as close to crying as I would get.

"Take care of her," I managed to say. "My mother."

"Of course," he said.

"Don't let her starve," I said.

"I won't," he said. A single tear slipped down my face.

"Don't give up, Katniss," Gale said. "Both of you will have an ally. Who knows? If they really are chosen randomly, you may be paired with her."

It could happen, but it wasn't likely.

"Either way," he continued, "you'll both be with someone. There will be someone to keep her safe, Katniss."

_I know, but for how long? _I thought. The second ten tributes left came around, how easy would it be for Prim to be killed? Who could say if she'd be shown any mercy by her ally? Who could say her and her ally would even make it that far?

"And as for you," he said, "find a bow. If you do, you'll be unstoppable."

"I can't kill anyone, Gale," I said, my voice cracking.

"Just pretend you're out hunting," he said. "You can do it. I know you can. Just, get your hands on a bow. Make sure you show them what you can do. Do _not _give up, Catnip."

He was silent then, as was I. There was little else to say. We just waited in our embrace for the Peacekeepers to come back. They eventually did, Gale was escorted away, and I was left alone. I let my fear consume me. I couldn't keep Prim safe. I knew that. Not during the Hunger Games, they were too unpredictable. I didn't even know if I could keep myself safe. The Hunger Games had begun.


	4. The Train Ride

** Just FYI, Katniss remembers a few different tributes in this story than she does in the book. It's not a mistake, just a choice I made.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games.**

The train rides started quietly. We ate dinner in near silence. Effie chattered every once in a while about this or that, but I doubt anyone was really listening. They were all too caught up in their own thoughts. I was, at least. And Prim, who hadn't left my side since the ride started, seemed pretty distant too. Pike and Peeta may have been listening, but it's doubtful.

Our mentor, the only living victor from District Twelve, Haymitch Abernathy, had yet to show. He was most liking either drunk or just nursing a wicked hangover. It was no secret he was a drunk. The fact that he hadn't shown his face seemed to be worrying Effie, because she kept glancing nervously at the train compartment door and checking her watch.

Eventually, though, Haymitch did stumble in, and though he was definitely unsteady, he appeared relatively sober. He immediately collapsed at the table and poured himself a drink, though.

We all sat in awkward silence then, even Effie, none of us sure what to do. The only noise was the soft hum of the train and the ice cubes in Haymitch's drink clinking against the glass.

"Well," Effie says at last, relieving us of the silence, "let's watch the Reapings, shall we?"

She leads us all to a different compartment. Haymitch stumbled a couple time and managed to slosh part of his drink down Pike's back. He shot a disgusted look at no one in particular, while Haymitch didn't even seem to notice. He just sipped his drink calmly.

As there were forty-four other tributes that were reaped, I couldn't feasibly remember them all. But a few of them stuck with me. A girl from 1 who eagerly volunteered, even though she looked more like she'd be afraid she'd break a nail in the fights. Everyone from District 1 looks like that, though, I guess. All four of the District 2 tributes looked particularly sadistic, but especially a large, blonde boy who practically pushed a group of people to the ground in his haste to make it to the stage. Two red haired girls from five who looked like they could be sisters. A small girl from 10 who quietly cried as her District partners were reaped. Another small girl from 11, with dark skin, hair and eyes. She reminded me a bit of Prim, in the way she holds herself, in her stature and demeanor. Prim seemed to see the resemblance as well.

We watched the District 12 Reapings as well. I relive it all. I saw me going up as my name was called, Pike next. I saw the shock ripple through the crowd as Prim's name is called. I watched me obviously zone the world out. And again when Peeta is reaped.

And then the Reapings are over. We stared at the blank screen again, in the same silence that smothered us in the dining compartment right after Haymitch came in. It was left to Effie to relieve us again.

"You should all sleep," she said, and though her tone was light, I could sense the underlying command. It was not we _should, _we _will_. Everyone stood and headed out to their assigned sleeping compartments, even Haymitch, still clutching his drink to his chest like a teddy bear. I hoped he didn't take it in bed with him like a teddy bear, too.

Once I was in my compartment, I changed into my nightclothes. I laid down on the bed, and tried my hardest to sleep, but it didn't come for a while. I wasn't as tired as I thought I would be. I was too nervous about what was to come. My situation didn't improve much when sleep finally did claim me, because then I got dreams. Well, nightmares about what was to happen to my sister and me when we entered that arena.

Eventually, night was over, and I dragged myself out of bed. I threw on some clothes (I knew Effie would have a heart attack at my messy appearance, but I didn't really care) and walked to the dining compartment. I was surprisingly not the last one there. Sure, I was second to last, as the only one missing is Pike, but my punctuality is usually terrible, so even that was impressive.

"Oh, I was hoping it would be both of you," Effie huffed, and hurriedly left the compartment, no doubt to go off to find Pike, mumbling something under her breath the whole way. Haymitch chuckled and then turned his attention to me.

"Aren't you going to sit?" he asked me. I walked over stiffly and sat next to Prim, who was stuffing her face with food. I couldn't blame her for her lack of table manners. She was hungry, and we hardly ever got enough food in District 12. Across from me, Haymitch seemed to be giggling at her.

"She really knows how to impress the escort," he said, and chuckled again. For a second I was angry, thinking he was insulting _and _laughing at my sister. Then I realized he was insulting and laughing at Effie, for her uptightness. Prim blushed, but didn't stop eating for more than a second.

Effie soon returned to the compartment with a very disgruntled looking Pike. She, herself, was rather disgruntled as well.

"All right, go sit," Effie said, shooing Pike to the table exasperatedly. He quickly joined us, grabbing a roll.

The others had already starting eating, or, in Effie's case, finished, so Pike and I were the only ones served when the Capitol attendants they have on the train came back. Even though the dinner was equally as large, I was still shocked at how much food there was. Plates and plates of it. Never had I seen so much food in one place. I couldn't even give names to three quarters of the food that appeared in front of me, but it was all delicious. Finally, when I felt I could hold no more, and perhaps a little past that point, I stopped eating. Prim was slowing down too. Haymitch, on the other hand, hadn't eaten a bite, just focused on his drink, which I had no doubt was alcoholic.

And that was our mentor, sitting there, drinking himself away.

"So, aren't you supposed to give us advice about the arena?" Peeta asked tentatively after a bit longer of watching Haymitch down his drink.

"You want advice?" Haymitch asked, bored. "Stay alive. That's the best advice I can give you."

"No really," Pike said sarcastically.

"Yes, really," Haymitch said, mimicking him.

"Hey, drunkard," Pike said, totally infuriated in a matter of seconds. "You got something that may actually help us?"

"I think staying alive would help you a lot," Haymitch said defensively.

In just a second, Peeta grabbed the glass that held his drink and dropped it. Haymitch raised his eyebrows at Peeta, and then punched him without hesitating. He tried to reach for his glass, that lay in shatters on the floor, but I shoved the butter knife into the table right next to his hand.

Effie gasped. "That is mahogany!"

_Yes, Effie, that really concerns me right now, _I thought.

Suddenly, Haymitch started laughing, a direct contrast to how he felt just a moment ago.

"Well, I guess you aren't all completely hopeless," he said.

"Thanks," Pike said. He really was one for sarcasm.

"Of course," Haymitch said. "But this doesn't mean she isn't my favorite, just because you guys have guts."

He pointed to Prim, the only one who hadn't taken part in the violent exchange. For the second time that morning, Prim blushed. Well, at least his favoritism was good. He might actually give my sister some advice worth listening to.

"Now, I want you guys to listen to me," Haymitch said. "I will give you pointers, as long as you don't come between me and the drink."

"But you'll be too drunk to help us," I argued.

"I'll stay sober enough, then," he said simply.

"Is all of your advice going to consist of 'stay alive'?" Pike asked.

"No," Haymitch said dryly, but earnestly. "But, do you want to know the secret to staying alive?"

We all looked at him expectantly.

"Get people to like you," he said. "If the sponsors like you, they'll give you things, but only, _only_ if they like you. Your gifts from sponsors could be the difference between life and death. And this little girl here is the only one who's doing well at this."

Again, he pointed to my sister.

"But for now," he said, changing the subject, "you're going to be given to the stylists, and you will do as they say, no matter what. Right?"

I was about to argue, but he seemed intensely serious. We all gave our assent, and before we could stop him, he strutted out of the room.

We all stared in his wake for a moment, then Effie squealed.

"Oh, look," she said excitedly. "We're coming into the Capitol."

She rushed to the window, and we followed, me quite reluctantly. We watched as we zipped past the people in the crowds, and then, spontaneously, Peeta began to wave at them all. The crowd went crazy at the acknowledgement. I looked at him questioningly, but he just shrugged.

"Get people to like you," he echoed Haymitch. Prim smiled out the window at the crowd, and that was enough to elicit more cries of admiration. Pike joined Peeta in waving. I was the only one who didn't do anything. I kept my distance, feeling sick at the thought of trying to get this people to like me; these people who had no qualms about watching me kill, watching me die. So I did nothing. I just stared at the Capitol citizens pass by as we got closer and closer to the place that would lead me to my deathbed.

**So, that was a lot like the book, but chapters soon to come are going to stray, for obvious reasons.**


	5. The Opening Ceremony

**Hey, I'd like to give a special shout out to songwriter16 and richards25 for their reviews. :J**

** Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games.**

Haymitch was right. The second we exited the train, we were nearly swept away by our prep teams. We were taken away from the sheering crowds, straight into the Remake Center, where I'd been sitting for hours upon hours, waiting for the cruel and unusual punishment they called a "make-over" to end. I learned almost immediately that I was not anywhere near up to par with the things the Capitol expected from the tributes. Nowhere near.

I couldn't help but wonder what was going on with the other tributes. I assumed that it must be a lot easier for the boys, for if they're hairy, so be it. They don't have to be decked down in make-up. Their hair doesn't have to be done in some fancy up-do. And from the way my prep team was acting so appalled with just about every aspect of my body, I could also assume that most female tributes didn't usually need as much work as I did, either. Prim most likely wasn't going through near as much as I was.

I was rather insulted by how horrified my prep team seemed to be by me. Was I really _that _bad looking? Sorry, as a kid from the Seam, I didn't have the money or the time to be worrying too much about my appearance. Silly me, I thought gaining food for myself and my family was important. No, no, it's the way you look that matters. How naïve of me.

I dealt with their lack of tact, though. They were really harmless. In fact, I should just be glad that they weren't trying to make me look like them. There were three of them, and each of them had their own…_unique _style. Venia was a woman with aqua hair and rather distracting tattoos on her face. Flavius was a man with bright orange hair and had just a minor obsession with his purple lipstick. Lastly, there was Octavia a woman whose body is entirely green. I don't think I could've dealt with any of those peculiarities.

Eventually, my prep team seemed satisfied with what they had done.

"She's _finally _ready for Cinna," Octavia chirped. Like I said, major lack of tact.

"I thought she may never be," Flavius said with a laugh.

"I know," Venia agreed. "Let's get Cinna!"

The three of them walked out together. I felt myself absolutely dreading Cinna's arrival. If he was anything like those three, it was going to be a long couple days before the Games.

I sat in silence, staring at the ground, waiting for Cinna to come in. It wasn't long before I heard the door open, and footfalls met my ears. Cinna was there.

I looked up, and was rather shocked by the way he looked. He looked, well, normal, for the most part. His brown hair seemed to be his natural color, his skin wasn't dyed strangely, he didn't have an odd hair style, he wasn't covered in tattoos. His outfit was a plain shirt and trousers. The only thing that reflected the Capitol's taste was the gold eyeliner he wore.

"Hello, Katniss," he said quietly. Even his voice didn't have the usual Capitol accent.

"Hello, Cinna," I replied. He said nothing more, just looked at me, his face indicating he was deep in thought.

"Come," he said at last. I figured he would've wanted to get started right away, but everything about this man seemed to take me by surprise. He led me into a sitting room, and gestured towards a couch, indicating for me to sit. I obeyed.

"So Katniss," he began, "we must discuss your outfit."

I raised an eyebrow. I knew there would be a lot of outfits. Which did he mean?

"For the opening ceremony," he said, understanding my confusion. I nodded. "You see, my partners, Portia, Delvia, and Blaise are the stylists for your district partners, Peeta, Primrose, and Pike, respectively. And we've decided that your costumes should be complementary."

I nodded again, but it seemed rather obvious to me.

"Now," he said, "you probably already know, usually the costumes are designed based on the occupation of the district."

It's true, they are. Every district had a chief industry, such as District 11 was agriculture and District 7 was lumber. Every year, the tributes from each district would wear something to symbolize their district's industry. Now, that was all well and good, but District 12 was coal mining. There's not much you can do with the big, actual coal mining suits, so in the year previous to mine, the stylists had always let their "creativity run free", as they put. I never honestly thought what they used was their creativity. Not really.

Usually, the tributes from my district were in some scrawny, barely existent costume with a headdress that had a headlamp. It never reflected our district very well, but these costumes kept coming.

"So, I'll be in a coal miner's suit?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"No," Cinna said. Once again, I was completely taken by surprise by him.

"Oh?" I said.

"No," Cinna said again. "I think the coal miner thing has been used to death. We need to do something that 's going to make sure every remembers the tributes from District 12."

I was not sure whether or not I should like where that was going.

"We're not going to focus on the coal mining aspect," Cinna said. "Instead, we shall focus on the coal itself. Now, we set coal on fire, right? You don't have any problems with fire, do you?"

After Cinna's genius is finished working, I stood in a fantastic, yet maybe crazy dangerous dress. It was all black and covered me completely. I always wore leather boots. My sister was in an almost identical costume, and she was nearly unrecognizable in it. Peeta and Pike were in identical outfits that matched my sister's and mine. They were very impressive, but they weren't the stars of the shows. That honor had been saved for the capes on our backs. For just before we were to go down the runway, our stylists were going to set them on fire.

"It's not real," Cinna had reassured all of us. "It's synthetic. Just a little something Portia, Delvia, Blaise and I came up with. It's totally safe."

I don't think any of us fully believed that.

All of us wore little make-up, and Prim's and my hairstyles are the usual braids we wore.

"I want everyone to recognize you all in the arena," Cinna said, but his next comment was directed at me. "I want them to remember you, Katniss, the girl was on fire."

We all stood in the first floor of the Remake Center, where our horses and chariots awaited us. All the other tributes were already gathered there. I glanced around, observing them all. I saw the blonde from 1, who stood giggling with the big blonde boy from 2. A small, dark-haired girl from 2 glared daggers at the both of them. Something told me that even though this girl was small, she was deadly. The other girl from was talking with the boys from her district and the other tributes from 2. I didn't like the way all five of them were grinning sadistically.

The four tributes from 3 all stood staring at the wall. Seriously. They weren't moving at all.

A brunette girl from District was yelling at one of her male District while the other male cheered her on. The other girl stared at her shoes.

The two redheads from 5 stood silent, their eyes darting around the room. The two boys next to them were laughing wildly about something. The shorter of the two girls cast them an annoyed look.

The four from 6 were probably the saddest looking lot. They were all small and scrawny and looked rather malnourished. They all seemed to think they didn't have a chance, as they all kept sharing morose glances with each other.

The two boys from 7 and one of the girls talked while the other girl silently petted her District's chariot's horse.

The four from 8 and the four from 9 were mingling among each other. They all acted as if they'd known each other for years.

The small girl from 10 that had cried at the Reaping hugged herself and stayed quiet as her District partners whispered nervously to each other.

The four from 11 were an odd mix. Both of the boys were monstrous and looked like they could break someone spine without even trying. The young girl that reminded me of Prim was the exact opposite. She was small and delicate, like a flower. And then there was the other girl, who was skinny and tall and looked extremely pissed off about something.

I began to wonder who out of this odd mix of people would be my "ally". As the District 1 chariot finally pulled out, I walked over to Cinna.

"Are they going to announce the alliances during the ceremony?" I asked curiously. He shook his head.

"No, they are going to wait a while for that," he said.

"Oh," I said.

"Now, get in the chariot," he said, nodding at the chariot. "It's time to light you guys."

_Great, _I thought. _Time to burn alive._

The four of us carefully climbed into the chariot, then our stylists strategically placed us so we wouldn't topple out. Then we'd be spontaneously combusting _and _roadkill. Even better.

Portia came over with a torch. It was the moment of truth. All four of us glanced at each other nervously, and then Portia lighted us.

"It works!" she exclaimed excitingly as our costumes burst into flames. Fortunately, I didn't feel the need to stop, drop, and roll yet. Our stylists nodded at us with a smile, and then our chariot began to move. Cinna yelled something at us.

"You have got to be kidding me," Pike said exasperatedly.

"What?" I asked.

"He wants us all to hold hands," Pike said through gritted teeth. I stared at him for a moment, then remembered what Haymitch said about our stylists. I grabbed his hand, and Peeta's as well, who is next to me. Peeta raised his eyebrows at me, but then he noticed I was holding Pike's hand, as well, and understood. He took Prim's hand, and then in unison we all raised them to the sky.

The crowd of Capitol citizens went crazy as we came out. We must've looked spectacular. "District 12" was being screamed out and I could even make out our names. Especially Prim's. There was a whole arsenal of reasons for that, though. She was the youngest, after all, and there must've been something appealing about that.

We went all the way to the president's mansion, where he gave his usual "a big group of kids is about to go brutally murder each other. Isn't it wonderful?" speech. It was sickening to listen to, but I had to hide my displeasure, because there were cameras projecting all of the tributes faces, so everyone could see my every move.

Eventually, he was finished, and we were wheeled away, back to the Training Center. There, our stylists helped us out of our costumes and extinguished the flames.

"That was fabulous!" Delvia gushed, and she and Blaise couldn't seem to shut up about it. Cinna and Portia just smiled kindly at the four of us.

And as for the four of us, well, none of us could really hide the small smiles that were forming on our faces. The Capitol had liked us. Even if they were sick and twisted people who only got enjoyment out of watching children kill each other, we had gotten them to like us, just as Haymitch had instructed us to do. We knew at that moment that we might've actually had a chance.

**Okay, I know that was still a lot like the book, but I'm trying so hard to differ from it. But, like I said, it will stray eventually. So sorry if you feel like you're just rereading the book.**


	6. Allies

** Okay, so I realize that I'm probably boring you all to tears right now, so I'm going to try to put training, training scores, alliances all into one chapter, and then have the interviews in the next.**

** Disclaimer: Do I really have to say it?**

Training was intimidating. Nothing else to be said about it. The Careers, the trained tributes from 1, 2, and 4, were monstrous, vicious, and even flat out scary. The rest of the tributes, of course, weren't even close to that standard, but it didn't matter. In the end, it isn't much of an exaggeration to that any single one of the Careers could take out all of us one hand tied behind their back. And it wouldn't surprise me if they tried.

All of them had their special weapon. Both of the boys from 2 could do crazy and horrible things with a sword. Their small, dark-haired district partner could deliver kill shots with daggers without even looking. The other girl from 2 and Blondie from 1 were pretty good with a bow and arrow. Not as good as me, but their skills would suffice. One of Blondie's male counterparts was good with a spear, and the other was good with pretty much any blunt object. The other girl from 1 didn't appear to have a weapon of choice, but she was incredibly agile and quick, and she was decent with a range of weapons, which made her still plenty lethal. One of the girls and one of the boys from 4 both had a trident that they were well experienced with, and the other boy was almost as good with a spear as the boy from 1 was. As for the other girl, she didn't seem to be a Career. She was the only one who was threatening as all get out.

They all enjoyed shoving their skills in your face, to scare you, and, honestly, it worked. The impression the four of us had made at the Opening Ceremony meant nothing anymore.

The knife wielding girl from 2 was especially good at the intimidation factor. She seemed to have something against me, in particular. She seemed to enjoy chucking her knives at dummies and smiling maniacally at me. I knew what her message was. I was her first target. Why me, I can not say.

"What do you want to do?" Peeta asked the three of us.

"Spears," Pike mumbled, and he was off, to go throw spears, I guess. That left just Peeta, Prim, and me.

"Wanna tie knots?" I asked, gesturing towards the knot tying station, which was unoccupied. Not many people seemed to think knot tying was important. It probably wasn't.

"Good idea," Peeta said, and the three of us went off. The man at the station looked pleased that we'd come. He began a small lecture on different kinds of knots, but we all caught on quickly, and didn't need much instruction.

It wasn't long before I realized the three of us were not alone. I turned my head, just a fraction of an inch, and caught sight of the little girl from 11, peeking at our progress.

"We've got a shadow," I said. Both Peeta and Prim turned and saw the girl. Prim stood immediately and walked over to her. The two exchanged a few words and smiles, and then they were off, to the climbing net, leaving Peeta and me alone.

"So…" I said, not exactly sure where I was going with that. I just felt like I needed to fill the silence.

"So…" he said as well.

Apparently neither of us had anything to say. So we sat in silence, tying knots.

"You think the alliances are really going to be chosen randomly?" Peeta said at last. His question took me by surprise.

"What do you mean?" I asked. "They said they would be…"

Peeta raised his eyebrows at me and smiled a little. "Really?"

"What?" I asked.

"You really think they're telling the truth?" he asked.

"Don't you?"

"No."

I looked at him in confusion.

"Well, I mean, why do you think they're waiting until _after _we get our training scores?" he asked.

I digested that. It made sense, what he was saying. If they were really randomly chosen, they could be picked anytime, and yet the Capitol was waiting until after we received our training scores.

"I don't know," I admitted. He just smiled, and we continued knot tying.

Training went on like that for days. I tried my hardest to start learning names. I don't know why, perhaps it was so that when they revealed who my ally was, I would actually know a little something about them, and have a face for a name. The little girl from 11 was Rue. One of her male district partners, the more monstrous of the two, was Thresh. The blonde boy from 2 was Cato, and his dagger wielding female district partner was Clove. The other boy from 2, a brunette, was Lynch, and the other girl was Leona. Blondie from 1 was Glimmer. The males from 4 were Ruck and Tritus. The little girl from 10 was Floette, and her female district partner was Minx. A little boy from 9, almost as young as Prim, Rue, and Floette, was Rig.

The names of the two girls from 5 always evaded me, but I had nicknames for them that would suffice. They were so quick and agile that they reminded me of animals. The taller of the two girls also looked rather like a fox, so I'd taken to just calling her Foxface. And as for the shorter of the two, the way she stalked about, eyeing everyone maliciously reminded me of a wolf, so she was Wolfie. Childish, perhaps, but I didn't really care.

Eventually, on the third day of training, we were called in for our private training session with the Gamemakers. We were taken out from lunch. I wasn't totally sure what I would do in there. Probably archery. It was my best bet, and Haymitch had told me it was the smartest thing to do.

I had tried to talk to Prim about it, to ask her what she was doing, and make sure it wasn't something that would really attract attention. But every time I asked, she'd just smile smugly and tell me she had it under control. I hoped she did.

Finally, I was called in. I was about to walk over when someone spoke behind me.

"Katniss," Peeta said, "shoot straight."

I nodded at him, but didn't say anything back. I will admit it; it was because I honestly had no idea what _to _say. _Yeah, Peeta, and as for you…throw things. _That didn't really sound too great.

I walked solemnly into the room Training Center. A large group of Gamemakers sat stuffing themselves on various foods. They were all obviously a little tipsy. They all looked at me expectantly, but didn't look that interested. I walked over to the archery station and picked up the bow and an arrow. It felt so natural in my grasp. Wait, no, not quite. It was different from the bow I'd practiced with for years. The string was too tight. I missed the bulls-eye on the target I was shooting at. In fact, I missed the target completely.

I shook it off, not daring to look at the Gamemakers. They were probably all mocking me with their eyes. I took another arrow and shoot. It landed closer to the bulls-eye. I continued to shoot until I was used to the bow and arrow, and then started to put on my show. I was shooting at the target and the dummies and even one of the lights. That was when I finally look at the Gamemakers.

Two, only two, were actually still watching. They smiled at me, but the rest smiled at a roasted pig waiting to be devoured.

I was livid. This whole private training session thing could mean everything, and they weren't even paying attention. I brought my bow back up, took aim, and shot it right it right at the Gamemakers. It hit the apple that was in the pig's mouth and pinned it to the wall. All of the Gamemakers stared at me in shock. I just bowed.

"Thank you for your consideration," I said, then stormed out.

In just a matter of seconds, I was regretting what I did. I had made them angry, no doubt, and who knows what they would do to me. I was almost too scared to show my face in front of Haymitch, Effie, and the other tributes. But I knew I had to, I couldn't just disappear. So I stepped into the room that held the five of them and sat down quietly. They all stared at me.

"So," Prim asked over-casually, "how'd you do?"

"Oh, pretty good," I said. "Right up until that point where I shot my arrow at the Gamemakers."

Five sets of eyes settled on me in shock.

"What?" Effie practically shrieked.

"They weren't paying attention," I said defensively. "So, I shot an arrow at them. I hit an apple that was in their stupid roasted pig's mouth."

Effie gasped in horror. I didn't say anything more, just stared at the ground. Suddenly, Pike and Haymitch were laughing like they just heard the funniest joke in existence.

"What?" I snapped.

"You-you-shot an-arrow-at the-Gamemakers!" Haymitch exclaimed between giggles. Pike, who was sitting next to me, held his hand up for a high-five, still laughing uncontrollably. I couldn't resist giving him a high-five.

"But don't you think they'll do something?" I said.

"Like what?" Haymitch said, finally somewhat in control of himself again. "Make your life hell? Make your family's life hell? Make those two boys' lives hell? I think they already are."

I was about to say something back, but then I stopped myself. It made sense. We were already going into the Games. That was punishment enough.

Eventually, it was time to watch and see the training scores and the alliances. We all gathered around the television and stared at it, enraptured, as the scores were given.

I wasn't surprised to see all of the Careers to get in the 8-10 range. They always did. Most of the other tributes got somewhere around a five. There were some outliers, such as the girls from 5 and a boy from 8, who all got an eight, and Thresh, who got a nine. I was sure that didn't please any of the Careers. Little Rue somehow managed to get a seven.

And then it was time for District 12. It was the moment of truth. Pike came up first. He got a seven.

"Not bad, not bad," Haymitch said, nodding his head at the boy. Pike looked pretty surprised by his result.

Next was Peeta. The number eight flashed around him.

"Nice job, Peeta," Effie chirped. Peeta joined Pike in the land of the shocked and tongue-tied.

Then it was Prim. I looked at the ground, not wanting to see this. If she got a low score, she may not get sponsors, especially if her ally got a low score as well. But if she got a high score, she'd be a threat.

"I'm impressed, Prim," Haymitch said. My head snapped up. Seven. I smiled at her, and she returned it.

I was last. I braced myself for what was coming. Probably a one, maybe a two if I was really, really lucky. Then the number eleven popped up on the screen.

It was pandemonium in the room. Everyone was going crazy.

"Eleven!" my sister cried. "You got an eleven!"

I didn't say anything, mostly because I was too shocked to. I could almost hear the Careers screaming angrily. But then Effie was ordering us to quiet down, as the alliances wer being announced.

They weren't going in any particular order, because apparently they were being announced only moments after they were being drawn, and they were being drawn the same way that tributes were selected: by drawing slips of paper. So, basically, someone had a bowl with all of the 48 tribute names in it, and they were drawing two names at a time.

As they first alliance comes on, a female from 8 and a male from 7, my thoughts flew back to my conversation with Peeta. Were they really being chosen randomly? I decided they weren't when the second alliance was announced. Leona and Lynch from 2. There was no way that was a coincidence. And if those two were working together, everyone else's chance of survival went _way_ down.

A girl from 6-her name _might_ be Finch-was paired with a boy from 3. The boy from 8 with the high training score was paired with a boy from 1. Then Pike's name was shown. We all waited in expectant silence for the other name to appear. Rig. The little boy from 9. Pike nodded his head in approval.

Next, Glimmer was paired with her remaining male district partner. There was no way that was a coincidence either. I honestly wouldn't be surprised at this point if all of the remaining Careers were paired together. Floette was paired with a girl from 9. Thea, perhaps. I wasn't quite sure. Thresh was paired with Tritus. Thea's female district partner was paired with a boy from 8, who may have been named Spool. Ruck is paired with the other female from 1. Of course.

Cato is on the screen then. Who would he be paired with? Clove, probably, or the girl from 4. I watched as Peeta's name appeared on the screen.

Peeta? Peeta? I looked at him, and he looked just as shocked as I did. I was sure Cato wasn't too thrilled about that. I stared at the screen in shock as the two girls from 5 were paired. And then Rue's name was on the screen.

I was rather worried for this girl, and very intrigued to see who she would be paired with. Prim's name appeared.

I gasped. How was that fair? Two twelve year old girls? How was that fair?

Next to me, Prim smiled. She didn't seem worried, at least. Well, they did both get a seven…They must've somewhat knew what they were doing.

Slowly, all the other tributes were paired. I waited for my name, but it didn't appear until there was only five other tributes left. Suddenly, my palms were sweaty, I wasn't sure why. Time seemed to slow down and it took ages for the other name to appear. I couldn't remember who was left. Finally, a name flashed next to mine. Clove.

Exactly in the way that I could almost hear the Careers screaming when I got my training score, I could picture what was happening on the District Two floor. Clove would be furious. She was probably having a fit, while her district partners and mentors were trying to calm her down and keep her from breaking something (or everything).

As for me, I just stared ahead blankly. I was allied with Clove.


End file.
